"Ben Bernanke has become more dangerous to American national security than al-Qaida."---

Economic Pearl Harbor Will Strike; America Not Prepared

Unfortunately, according to James Rickards, a top financial-threat adviser to the Pentagon, CIA, and Director of National Intelligence, an “economic Pearl Harbor” is quickly approaching.

In fact, the first shots already have been fired.

What Rickards has uncovered is being taken so seriously by our National Intelligence Community and military, that they’ve already brought him to their Warfare Analysis Laboratory to assess America’s readiness.

However, what they found shocked those in attendance: America is not prepared.

Rickards believes our vulnerability is due to our enemies now being able to attack our financial system without the use of military force.

Instead, they currently have the capabilities to use covert, instantaneous, and oftentimes, untraceable “economic weapons of mass destruction.”

Rickards’ work with the National Intelligence Community now focuses on assessing how China, Iran, North Korea, and other nations can overcome their military disadvantages against the United States by harnessing and weaponizing complex investments such as derivatives and currencies, as well as commodities like oil and gold.

These can now be turned into dangerous vehicles for striking America’s financial security. And their effectiveness can be so severe, that Rickards has admitted the Wall Street could be taken down.

Rickards warns that we may see the collapse of our financial markets, the end of the dollar’s status as a reserve currency, and investments such as gold quickly surge to $7,000 an ounce as the hostilities escalate.

Rickards has even presented evidence that suggests China is currently using their military to secretly stockpile gold for this eventual showdown ()

Rickards assessment is not to be taken lightly.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he helped end the Iran Hostage Crisis.

Rickards was also brought in to stop a Wall Street meltdown in 1998 when it came to light that a small firm called Long Term Capital Management had become so entangled in dangerous and overleveraged investments, that their exposure could’ve singlehandedly pushed America into a recession.

And after 9/11, the CIA assigned Rickards to an investigation to track down potential insider trading that was tied to terrorist activity prior to the attack.

However, Rickards’ newest warnings about this coming, economic Pearl Harbor are causing serious uproar on Capitol Hill, because he is pointing the finger at the U.S. government for what’s about to unfold.

In fact, at one Treasury meeting, he declared that “Ben Bernanke has become more dangerous to American national security than al-Qaida.”

EU Is Dealt Setback on Short-Selling RulesAn opinion from the European Court of Justice suggested that judges should annul aspects of the European Union's short-selling rules, arguing that the bloc had used the wrong legal basis for handing emergency powers to the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Opinions from the court's advocates-general aren't binding for its judges, but often give a good indication of the court's final decision.

Advocate-General Niilo Jaaskinen said emergency powers handed to ESMA that allow it to ban or curb short-selling in several member states or the entire EU, even against the will of national authorities, aren't in line with the article of the EU treaty they are based on and should be annulled.

Jay Paul for The New York Times The House Edge Wall Street Exploits Ethanol Credits, And Prices Spike By GRETCHEN MORGENSON and ROBERT GEBELOFF A little known market in ethanol credits arose after Wall Street institutions amassed millions of them — just as refiners needed credits to meet a federal requirement.

The U.K. government is set to sell down a 6% stake in Lloyds Banking Group, the first step in the British government’s quest to recoup some of the £20 billion ($31.75 billion) it plowed into the lender at the height of the financial crisis.

The government bailed out Lloyds in 2009 following its shotgun merger with teetering mortgage lender HBOS and currently holds a 39% stake in the bank.

In a statement, UK Financial Investments Ltd., which manages the government’s stake, said that it would sell 4.28 milllion shares in an accelerated book build, taking its stake to 32.7%. The price at which the sale would take place hasn't yet been disclosed.

Federal Reserve officials on Wednesday kept the central bank's $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program in place, saying they wanted to see more evidence that the economy can sustain improvement before scaling back the purchases.

They made clear they are poised to reduce the program if they see more evidence of a strengthening economy. Fed officials pointed to concerns that financial conditions had tightened in recent months and that those conditions could slow the economy if sustained.

U.S. stocks rallied to new highs as the Federal Reserve surprised markets by announcing that its stimulus measures would stay in place. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a new record, up 147.21 points at 15676.94. The S&P 500 index also notched a new record, closing up 20.76 points at 1725.52. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 37.94 points to 3783.64.

Treasury prices also rose, with the benchmark 10-year yield settling at 2.706%, its lowest since Aug. 12. Prices of mortgage-backed securities leapt even more. Gold and oil futures pushed higher. The dollar slumped against most major currencies, weakening to a nearly seven-month low against the euro.